Last night my little Tinker passed over the  "Rainbow Bridge" in my arms.  I have had a flood or emotions and memories since then and it is hard for me to post this blog as his personality is still very fresh in my mind.  Small dogs usually live longer than bigger dogs and, even with Tinker's rough beginning, he probably lived 14 - 15 years.  He was with me for 13 of those years ...so he was really a senior citizen in dog years.

When I adopted him at the shelter, he had been found after a car accident and he only had one eye as the other had to be removed.  He since lost the eyesight almost completely in his remaining eye due to a cataract. The shelter asked me if I would consider adopting a dog with just one, at that time, good eye.  I picked him up and when he crossed his paws around my arm I was hooked.  I said yes ... and we have been together since then.  We have been through a lot and have seen two other little buddies pass on; but through it all, he has still been my baby.  We have moved and we have traveled. We have watched grandchildren grow up all around him.  They have pulled him and hugged him and taken him for walks and he has seemed to love it all. I even had Tinker blog on this site about all pets, but particularly dogs, and the importance of taking care of them. 

What do I say about Tinker?  He was a goofy little dog who made me laugh, sitting in my flower pots and climbing on his doghouse.  He was far from perfect but he was sweet, totally non-agressive and very playful (particularly when he was younger).  And he was devoted.  He was just happy to be included.

In my children's book My New Puppy there is a section about our bond with pets.  It is incredibly strong.  An animal's devotion  and companionship is good for your emotional and physical health and there is documented proof that a pet's love can relieve stress, lower blood pressure and help the body heal.  We, in turn; owe them the best to take care of them and give them our love in return.  

Tinker leaves behind a companion named Nunzi and, although he will never replace Tinker, he is wonderful too. I will consciously try to spend more time with him now.  He knows that Tinker is gone (he is a little quiet and subdued and he doesn't want to go to places where he and Tinker used to stay), even though he doesn't know what happened to his buddy.

There are several prose works about The Rainbow Bridge, where our pets wait for us after death.  We will meet at the Rainbow Bridge to pass over into Paradise.   As my daughter said when I told her that I was sad about Tinker's passing "He's a happy, young dog again and is your Guardian Angel Dog now."  I will keep that thought in mind and love his memory and enjoy the remaining little man that I still have.

Below: Tinker at home, Tinker hiking in Sedona, AZ; Tinker climbing in the flower pot; Tinker walking with my granddaughter

Recently, I enjoyed reading two of my books and making projects from some of the activities in the backs of the books with a classroom of first grade children. We made hummingbird feeders out of recycled coffee cups, always a hit with the kids, one day and then cooked Colombian pancakes (arepas) on another day (I have already posted about both of these activities in other blogs so I won't do it here).

What I want to comment on in this blog is the sweet thoughtfulness of the children that I read to and worked with as they each wrote a thank you letter and sent them to me in a little scrapbook.  I loved the way the children expressed their thoughts and have chosen three of the letters as darling examples.  The children were very polite and seemed very interested as they made comments and asked questions during the stories and then enthusiastically got into the projects.  One little boy told me that he ate ten arepas pancakes - I think that he enjoyed them!

I really appreciated the children for taking time in their class to write these thank you notes  and I thank their teacher for encouraging them to do it.  Their expressions of thank you really meant a lot to me.

It seems that today we are losing a little bit of our civility and kindness toward one another.  Saying "Please" and "thank you" was something that my parents told me was very important and saying it with a smile made it even more meaningful.  It seems to be lost today in many parts of our society.  

I have traveled the world and nothing means more in any culture than a welcome smile and an attempt to say "please" and "thank you" in the home country language.  We must teach our children the importance of "please" and "thank you". It shows respect and makes both the giver and the receiver feel good.  It leads to other gestures of kindness and it is so important and much needed in our world today.

Sometimes you just need a little Pineapple Sunshine to start your day.  Instead of Mickey Mouse Pancakes, which my grandchildren love and love to make, I have also introduced them to little "Miss Pineapple Sunshine", a fruity and healthy alternative to syrupy pancakes.  She is fun and simple to make and starts the morning out on a cheerful note...and she's good for them when the children consume her.  

I use all organic fruit because strawberries particularly are one of the most contaminated fruits if not grown organically. I can see how that would be with the pitted skin to catch every contaminant and pesticide that is sprayed on them.  But organic is easy to find here in Southern California.

To make little Miss Pineapple Sunshine start with fresh, not canned or frozen, pineapple and cut it in rounds of about 3/4 inch thick (less or more if you prefer).  Cut enough of the strawberries in half to make the rays for the pineapple sun.  Then you can add a blueberry or another small berry for the nose and kiwi fruit for the smiling eyes. A final little slice of strawberry gives her a happy mouth.  

I cut the fruit and then I let the children decorate.  Little "Miss Pineapple Sunshine" makes a pretty, fun and healthy beginning to any day.